Antique options: Vintage Grove transforms former theater, skating rink into new shop
Published 12:01 am Sunday, August 14, 2022
Madeline Wagoner/Salisbury Post — Tracy Gladstone does all the refurbishing to bring life back to antiques in Vintage Grove.
Madeline Wagoner/Salisbury Post — Shelves are lined with only a fraction of Tracy Gladstone's collection.
Madeline Wagoner/Salisbury Post — Jody and Tracy plan to open Vintage Grove on Aug. 25, but Matress by Appointment is open for calls to provide community members with a proper night's sleep.
Madeline Wagoner/Salisbury Post — An original theater seat from 1933 can still be found in the building, but it won't be for sale as a antique.
Madeline Wagoner/Salisbury Post — Jody Gladstone's Mattress by Appointment is housed in the back portion of 303 N. Main Street in China Grove, behind Tracy Gladston's Vintage Grove.
CHINA GROVE — Antique collectors will soon have a new place to look for treasures.
Vintage Grove at 303 N. Main Street in China Grove will open Aug. 25.
Jody and Tracy Gladstone purchased the old Grove Theatre to run their business, which took the past two years to bring to life. After the theater shut down in 1955, it was a skating rink for a while before being closed again. Customers can expect to be greeted by a historic feel when stepping into the shop, which still has wood flooring in the back that served as the skating floor.
Tracy Gladstone has been collecting antiques for the past five years, following the look for treasures that her grandmother started.
“I honestly wish I had paid attention to it more when I was younger,” she said. “But now I have so much in storage and my booths. I love to share their stories.”
Her husband agreed. Both of their favorite parts of selling antiques is getting to share the history behind each piece with customers.
Tracy began selling antiques a year and a half ago, first having booths at Lake Norman Antique Mall before moving her assortment to Main Street Antiques at the Mill. She still has a booth there, No. D26.
She had the opportunity to open her first shop after Jody opened Mattress by Appointment at the back of the building. He formerly transported goods before coming down with COVID-19. Due to long-term effects to his health, he had to leave that job and decided to open his mattress business, which started operations at the beginning of this month.
“It kind of worked out perfectly,” he said. “I was already here, so she just moved into the front.”
Tracy refurbishes antiques that she and her husband pick up. They source many pieces from Goodwill, thrift stores, estate sales and auctions. Sometimes, if they get lucky, they find pieces on the side of the road after someone decided to throw them out. After some refurbishing, the items are ready to be put in the store.
She also prices everything through researching and comparing prices to the brand of the item or what is similar with the era it came from.
Vintage Grove held a soft opening at Farmers Day when folks could visit inside the store. Vintage Grove’s Facebook page picked up 200 followers day, so Jody called that a success.
The store will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 or 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, with closing hours still not finalized.
They’ll observe traffic in the store and then make the final decision.
Vintage Grove can be found on Facebook and Instagram @myvintagegrove and Mattress by Appointment can be found on Facebook. For inquiries, call Jody Gladstone at 704-704-277-6572 or visit mattressbyappointment.com/locations/nc/chinagrove.
